1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to systems and methods that are used to remove carbon dioxide from a waste gas source for sequestration or to store the collected carbon dioxide by chemically reacting the carbon dioxide into a larger benign molecule.
2. Prior Art Description
Carbon dioxide is one of the most abundant greenhouse gases created by industry. As a result, countries around the world have begun to regulate the amounts of carbon dioxide that are allowed to be released into the environment. Consequently, companies of all types are interested in technologies that enable them to expand production without increasing the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.
In the prior art, there have been many technologies designed to reduce or remove the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the environment through an industrial smokestack. Most of these technologies involve wet scrubbing, absorption systems or, oxy-fuel secondary combustion systems. Unfortunately, the capital costs to capture carbon dioxide using these known methods are very expensive. Furthermore, it is not unusual for a carbon dioxide removal process to increase the energy needs of the overall system by up to thirty percent. As a result, the output of an electrical plant can be decreased by up to thirty percent just by scrubbing the carbon dioxide emissions of that power plant. This, of course, results in the need for more and larger power plants, which produces more greenhouse gases, uses more resources, and thus produces more pollution.
A great need therefore exists for a system and method that can economically remove carbon dioxide from a waste gas source without increasing the energy needs of the system that produces the waste gas source. A great need also exists for a system and method of efficiently storing the carbon dioxide in a stable form once the carbon dioxide has been removed from the waste gas stream. These needs are met by the present invention as described and claimed below.